Inter show strength, beat Napoli 3-0 and return to the top

John

By John

Napoli-Inter 0-3 (0-1).

Naples (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Ostigard, Natan (41′ st Zerbin); Anguissa, Lobotka (29′ st Zielinski), Elmas (29′ st Lindstrom); Politano (22′ st Raspadori), Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia. (95 Gollini, 16 Idasiak, 5 Juan Jesus, 24 Cajuste, 4 Demme, 70 Gaetano, 18 Simeone). All.: Mazzarri.

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian (41′ pt Bisseck), De Vrij (18′ pt Carlos Augusto), Acerbi; Dumfries (2′ st Cuadrado), Barella, Calhanoglu, Mikhitaryan (32′ st Frattesi), Dimarco; Thuram (41′ st Arnautovic), Martinez. (77 Audero, 12 Di Gennaro, 44 ​​Stabile, 5 Sensi, 14 Klaassen, 42 Agoumè, 21 Asllani, 70 Sanchez). All.: S.Inzaghi.

Referee: Mass of Imperia.

Networks: in the pt 43′ Calhanoglu; in the st 16′ Barella, 39′ Thuram.

Angles: 6-4 for Napoli.

Recovery: 3′ and 3′.

Warned: Rrahmani, Darmian for foul play; Elmas for protests; Thuram for non-regulatory behavior.

Spectators: 55 thousand.

Thanks to an extraordinary show of strength, Inter beat Napoli at home and returned to the top of the Serie A table. At the Maradona Stadium the Nerazzurri went 3-0 thanks to goals from Calhanoglu, Barella and Thuram. A huge success for Inzaghi’s team, which rises to 35 points, once again overtaking Juventus, while Mazzarri’s men suffer their fourth defeat in the championship and are forced to remain stationary at 24 points, definitively hooked by Roma in the Champions League zone. Very few minutes on the clock and the Neapolitans immediately came close to taking the lead with Elmas, who let loose a great shot which Sommer flew to, deflecting it for a corner. The Nerazzurri’s response came just after the quarter of an hour, when Thuram’s goal was disallowed for offside after a good combination with Lautaro Martinez.

In the 36th minute Napoli are once again one step away from breaking the deadlock, this time with Politano who lets a left-footed shot from distance hit the crossbar. Inter trembled, but right at the end of the first half they found the advantage with a great goal from Calhanoglu, who unleashed a splendid right-footed shot from outside surprising Meret with an assist from Barella. In the second half the first big opportunity still belonged to the Italian team, with Kvaratskhelia making a nice turn into the area resulting in a left-footed shot, foiled by a miraculous Sommer. A handful of minutes pass and in the 62nd minute the guests double their lead thanks to an applause-worthy play by Barella, who perfectly controls a pass from Lautaro and pierces Meret in a split after having eluded a couple of opponents. The only real sign of response from Mazzarri’s men comes from Osimhen, who tries with a header from Natan’s cross, narrowly missing the target. In the final, Inzaghi’s team puts the exclamation point on a truly heavy success, finding the third goal thanks to Thuram who can’t make a mistake from two steps away from Cuadrado’s low cross.